Buyers for rural properties have gone up, according to a property market report for 2021, which shows an increasing interest in large farmland properties. According to the Savills report it illustrates that 39% of buyers in the Irish market came from the UK and beyond. It adds that this trend is not unusual.
There were more customers for larger properties, with 68% of successful transactions conducted by Savills concluded after a process of competitive bidding. Head of Savills Country Agency, James Butler says that they saw huge confidence in the Irish market last year with a lot of active buyers seeking larger farms of viable size.
“The improved returns from farming attracted people to the business and the reality that, as an investment, land is a secure haven for money,” claims Butler. With more buyers than in previous years, it appears as though farms are being bought with non-farming money.
As Covid-19 measures had impacted the market, more rural purchases are occurring showing that the move to working-from-home was a driver in the rural property market with a particular interest in large farmland properties.
According to an analysis of their 2021 figures, rural properties made, on average, 15.3% more than their guide price. He also identified what he called prospective landowners looking to invest in natural capital or environmental capital.